Will a 4-Day Workweek Work for Your Company?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The idea of a four-day workweek has been bandied about for years, but few companies have taken the plunge, fearful of reduced worker productivity.

But a Brigham Young study on the topic shows staffers who work four-day weeks boasting of better home lives, more satisfaction with their jobs and less incentive to seek work at another firm. Additionally, 60% said they were more productive.

Yet only 7% of companies give employees the option of a four-day week, even as personal errands and trips away from the job during business hours have increased 31% since 2011.

Google Chief Executive Larry Page also made news on the topic, calling recently for a shorter workweek for global companies.

One way to get the attention of company executives is through its investors, and it's investors who are coming around on the idea and letting companies know about it.

According to a study from Spectrem's Millionaire's Corner, 70% of corporate investors (who are also millionaires) say the four-day week is a "valid idea." Women investors are especially bullish, with 82% of those surveyed liking the idea compared with 62% of male investors.

To both groups the best approach is to schedule four 10-hour days. A minority says four eight-hour days would work -- although that would lead to a 20% cut in compensation with less hours of work.

Career professionals who want three days off every week will hope that message gets through to corporate America and that four-day workweeks become as commonplace as telecommuting, a workplace change considered out of the question 20 years ago.